Johann Vexo plays Danse macabre

"There is no shortage of organists who make their instruments roar; and while her power was never in question, 
Demers made the instrument sing.” (Peter Reed, Classical Source.com, England, 2016) 

With playing described as having “bracing virtuosity” (Chicago Classical Review) and being “fearless and extraordinary” (Amarillo-Globe News), organist Isabelle Demers has enraptured critics, presenters, and audience members around the globe for her entrancing performances. Her 2010 recital for the joint International Society of Organbuilders-American Institute of Organbuilders convention so enchanted the audience that she “left the entire congress in an atmosphere of ‘Demers fever’.” That same year, her recital at the national convention of the American Guild of Organists, in Washington, D.C., was received with great acclaim not only by critics, who deemed it “one of the most outstanding events of the convention” (The American Organist), but also by the standing-room-only audience, which called her back to the stage five times.

She has appeared in recital at the cathedrals of Cologne and Regensburg (Germany), the ElbPhilharmonie (Hamburg), St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and the Royal Festival Hall (London), the Royal Opera House of Muscat (Oman), Melbourne Town Hall (Australia), Auckland Town Hall (New Zealand), as well as major universities and concert halls in the United States, among them Davies Hall (San Francisco), Disney Hall (Los Angeles), the Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), the Wanamaker Organ (Philadelphia), Yale University, the Eastman School of Music, Benaroya Hall (Seattle), Spivey Hall (Georgia), and the Spreckels Pavilion (San Diego).

Ms. Demers is in continual demand by her fellow colleagues as witnessed by repeat performances for regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists (Minneapolis, 2008; Washington D.C., 2010; Hartford, 2013; Austin, 2013; Indianapolis, 2015; Houston, 2016), the joint convention of the American Institute of Organ Builders and International Society of Organbuilders (Montréal, 2010), the Royal Canadian College of Organists (Toronto, 2009; Kingston, Ontario, 2016), and the Organ Historical Society (Vermont, 2013 and Minnesota, 2017).

Her debut recording on Acis label was met with critical acclaim. On a recent broadcast of Pipedreams, radio host Michael Barone featured the Fugue from Reger's Opus 73, describing it as "a masterful score, here masterfully played," and Isabelle Demers as, “definitely a talent to watch, to hear.” The RSCM's Church Music Quarterly awarded the “exciting, expressive and successful” recording its highest recommendation for its “profound and searching” performances. Fanfare Magazine proclaimed the “superbly produced” and “clear, tightly focused” recording as a “brilliantly played program.” Her second disc, featuring the organ works of Rachel Laurin, was released in June 2011, and her recording of Max Reger’s Seven Chorale-Fantasias in November 2012. Her fourth CD, Bach, Bull, and Bombardes (Pro Organo), was released in May 2013, and includes works of Bach, Bull, Reger, Widor, Tremblay, Mendelssohn, Daveluy, and Thalben-Ball. She also appears as solo organ accompanist in a recording of Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem with the Baylor University Choir, recorded at Duruflé’s church, St. Étienne-du-Mont, in Paris. Her latest CD, recorded at Chicago’s Rockefeller Chapel, was released in January 2020, and includes works of Reger, Laurin, Dupré, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, and Macmillan. 

A native of Québec and a doctoral graduate of the Juilliard School, Dr. Demers is the newly-appointed Associate Professor of Organ at McGill University (Montréal, Québec). She was formerly the Joyce Bowden Chair in Organ and Head of the Organ Program at Baylor University (Waco, Texas). 

Isabelle Demers is represented in North America exclusively by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC. 
www.concertartists.com
E-mail:  [email protected]
Phone: 860/560-7800
10 Abbott Lane, Dearborn, MI 48120-1001

"She presented herself as a communicative player with no shortage of imaginative ideas, with
fingers fully capable of backing them up, and with feet which are not just nimble on the pedals, 
but every bit as expressively articulate as her fingers." (Michael Dervan, The Irish Times)

Hailed by The New York Times as “splendid,” and “one of New York's finest organists,” Renée Anne Louprette maintains an international career as organ recitalist, collaborative artist, conductor, and teacher, and is director of the National Competition in Organ Improvisation. She is associated with several distinguished music programs in the New York City area, having served as Associate Director of Music at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, Associate Director of Music and the Arts at Trinity Wall Street, Organist and Associate Director at the Unitarian Church of All Souls, and Director of Music at the Church of Notre Dame.

Ms. Louprette is a U.S.-Romanian Fulbright Scholar who spent the Fall 2022 season in Brașov, Transylvania, completing research on historic Romanian pipe organs. She is Assistant Professor of Music and College Organist at Bard College and a member of the faculty of Bard College Conservatory, where she directs the Bard Baroque Ensemble and leads an annual Bach cantata series. She has directed the organ program at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University since 2013 and is a former faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music, The Hartt School of the University of Hartford, and the John J. Cali School of Music of Montclair State University. 

Ms. Louprette’s European festival recital appearances include Internationaler Orgelsommer, Stuttgart, Germany; Magadino, Switzerland; In Tempore Organi, Italy; Ghent and Hasselt, Belgium; Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Uppsala and Lund cathedrals, Sweden; Bordeaux Cathedral and Toulouse Les Orgues, France, and Organ Nights in Brașov, Romania. In 2018, she made her solo debuts at the Royal Festival Hall in London and the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. She has performed throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, including at Westminster Abbey and the Temple Church in London, St. Giles Cathedral Edinburgh and Dunblane Cathedral (Scotland), Galway Cathedral and Dún Laoghaire (Ireland). 

Her recording of J. S. Bach’s "Great Eighteen Chorales" on the Metzler organ of Trinity College, Cambridge, England, was named a classical music Critics' Choice 2014 by The New York Times. “Une voix française | A French Voice”—her recording of 20th-century French organ repertoire on the Mander organ of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York—received top reviews in British journals Choir & Organ and Organists’ Review and the Dutch journal Orgelniews. Her current recording of Bach’s Clavier-Übung III performed on the Craighead-Saunders organ of Christ Church, Rochester, New York, is scheduled for release in 2023. 

As a collaborative keyboardist, Ms. Louprette has performed with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Brisbane, Australia, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, the American Brass Quintet, Voices of Ascension, Clarion Music Society, American Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Dance Project, The Dessoff Choirs, Oratorio Society of New York, and Piffaro, among many other ensembles. She has partnered with traditional Irish musician Ivan Goff, with whom she debuted at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles presenting the world premiere of a new work for uilleann pipes and organ by Eve Beglarian, commissioned for the Louprette-Goff duo by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The duo released their album “Bright Vision” to critical acclaim in 2019. The 2021-2022 season featured a join recital in Cluj-Napoca with Romanian saxophonist Zoltán Réman, concerto debuts with The Orchestra Now at the Bard Music Festival “Nadia Boulanger and her World” and with the Auburn Symphony Orchestra at Benaroya Hall in Seattle for the national convention of the American Guild of Organists. 

Ms. Louprette has conducted performances by professional choirs in the greater New York City area accompanied by members of Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola, including the acclaimed U.S. premiere of John Tavener’s Requiem as co-conductor with Kent Tritle. She was selected as a conducting fellow of the Mostly Modern Festival in 2019, premiering several new works with the New York-based American Modern Ensemble. 

Renée Anne Louprette holds a Master of Music degree in conducting from Bard College Conservatory, a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in piano performance and Graduate Professional Diploma in organ performance from The Hartt School, University of Hartford. She was awarded a Premier Prix - mention très bien from the Conservatoire National de Région de Toulouse, France and a Diplôme Supérieur in organ performance from the Centre d’Études Supérieures de Musique et de Danse de Toulouse where she studied with Michel Bouvard and Jan Willem Jansen (interpretation) and Philippe Lefebvre (improvisation). She completed additional studies in organ with Dame Gillian Weir, James David Christie, and Guy Bovet.

Renée Anne Louprette is represented in North America exclusively by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC. 
www.concertartists.com
E-mail:  [email protected]
Phone: 860-560-7800
10 Abbott Lane, Dearborn, MI 48120-1001

Described as “scintillating” and “tremendously virtuosic” (The Straits Times, Singapore), Michael Hey has established himself as a reputable concert organist in the U.S. and abroad. Hey performs solo and collaboratively, from organ concertos with top American orchestras to organ performances in historic cathedrals and churches.

In 2023, Michael was appointed director of music and organist of the historic Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan. Founded in 1628, it is the oldest church congregation in New York State. Michael also serves as assistant music director at Park Avenue Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Prior to his appointment at Marble Collegiate Church, Michael served at two other distinguished congregations on Fifth Avenue, most notably as associate director of music and organist of the famed Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City from 2015–2023, where one of his first major tasks was to perform for the first U.S. visit of Pope Francis. Michael played at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral for services throughout the week and had been heard by millions visiting the cathedral or on live broadcasts via Sirius XM radio, television, and online. From 2010–2015, Michael was assistant organist at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Michael has performed solo recitals and lectured for several American Guild of Organists conventions and conferences. In 2017, Michael received first prize in the First Shanghai Conservatory of Music International Organ Competition, held at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Theater. In 2017, Michael released his premiere solo CD recording, Michael T. C. Hey plays the Great Organ of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, by the JAV recording label. In 2016, he was recognized as one of the top “20 Under 30” organists by The Diapason magazine and was a finalist in the Longwood Gardens Organ Competition.

Michael has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony on several occasions. In 2014, he was the featured organ soloist for the New York City Ballet’s newly commissioned work Acheron. Set to the music of Francis Poulenc’s Organ Concerto, his performance at its premiere was "vividly played" (The New York Times, 2014). Michael has performed at notable venues such as Lincoln Center (New York), Carnegie Hall (New York), Madison Square Garden (New York), the Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), the Esplanade (Singapore), and Overture Hall (Madison).

Not exclusively a solo organist, Michael enjoys a varied career that includes collaborations with other musicians, solo piano recitals, improvising, and transcribing works. He is a proponent of new works for organ and has premiered a number of compositions. He performs works and arrangements for violin and organ with violinist Christiana Liberis in the Hey-Liberis duo.

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Michael graduated from the accelerated five-year degree program at The Juilliard School, where he received both his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in organ performance under Paul Jacobs.

Michael Hey is represented in North America exclusively by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC. 
www.concertartists.com
E-mail:  [email protected]
Phone: 860-560-7800
10 Abbott Lane, Dearborn, MI 48120-1001 

Bryan Anderson 

2023 First Prize Winner of the Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition

The exceedingly great level of musicality, the fearlessness of his performance, and the exacting technical prowess exhibited by Bryan Anderson compelled the jury of the 2023 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition to name him, out of 10 stellar competitors, the First Prize Winner of this illustrious event, where he received the $40,000 Pierre S. DuPont Prize (the largest cash prize of any competitive organ event). The Diapason, which named Bryan to its “20 under 30” Class of 2017, has called his playing “brilliant;” Classical Voice of North Carolina has described his playing as “simply first class.”

In the 2023 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition, Bryan also received the Philadelphia AGO Chapter Prize for the best performance of a prescribed work by the judges. He also took prizes at the 2021 Canadian International Organ Competition and the 2019 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition, and is a past first-prize winner of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition. Bryan has performed at national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists and the Organ Historical Society and has been featured numerous times on American Public Media's Pipedreams. He appeared on the album Pipedreams Premieres, vol. 3, performing music of Henry Martin alongside Isabelle Demers, Stephen Tharp, and Ken Cowan. Bryan has completed nearly one dozen original orchestral transcriptions, including works by Duruflé, Alkan, Debussy, and Dave Brubeck, and enjoys utilizing these arrangements in recitals.

In addition to solo work, Bryan enjoys an active performance life as a musical collaborator. As a continuo artist at the organ and harpsichord, Bryan is a regular performer with the early-music groups Harmonia Stellarum Houston and the Oklahoma Bach Choir, and has also appeared recently with Mercury Chamber Orchestra, Houston Grand Opera, Kentucky Baroque Trumpets, and the viols of Les Touches. Bryan is also an experienced collaborative pianist and chamber musician, with many years of work as an instrumental and choral accompanist, including as the current concert accompanist for the Houston Children’s' Chorus. In the realm of orchestral music, Bryan has performed in works such as Strauss' Eine Alpensinfonie, Copland's Appalachian Spring, Poulenc's Organ Concerto, Saint-Säens' Organ Symphony, and the chamber orchestration of the Duruflé Requiem. He is also one of the few current organists to tackle large oratorio repertoire at the organ without orchestra, having performed works such as Poulenc's Gloria and Mendelssohn's complete Elijah score alone in choral performances.

Bryan is employed as Director of Music at Saint Thomas’ Episcopal Church and School in Houston, Texas, where he trains all ages of choirs from elementary ages through adults, oversees eight sung services per week, and organizes a concert season of guest artists and in-house ensembles. He serves as Co-Manager of the RSCM Gulf Coast choral residency program and has also worked as the Preparatory Choir Director for the Houston Children’s’ Chorus. He previously held positions at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Houston; Wells Cathedral in Somerset, England; and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and Tenth Presbyterian Church, both in Philadelphia. He also served as an assistant organist of the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, Philadelphia.

Bryan received his master’s degree in organ performance from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in 2018, where he studied with Ken Cowan. His undergraduate work was completed at the Curtis Institute of Music, resulting in his bachelor’s degree in organ with Alan Morrison and an Artist Diploma in harpsichord with Leon Schelhase  Previous teachers were Jeannine Morrison (piano) and Sarah Martin (organ).

Bryan Anderson, as part of his Longwood prize, is represented in North America exclusively by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC. 
www.concertartists.com
E-mail:  [email protected]
Phone: 860-560-7800
10 Abbott Lane, Dearborn, MI 48120-1001

Photo credit: Tam Lan Truong

Balint Karosi plays "Vision in Flames" by Japanese composer Akira Nishimura (1953–2023) at the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, June 26, 2024.

Since winning the International Bach Competition in Leipzig in 2008, Dr. Karosi has been recognized as one of the leading interpreters of the music of J. S. Bach worldwide. In 2020, he embarked on recording the complete organ works of J. S. Bach in fourteen recitals on different organs in the U.S. and Europe. He has five recorded albums that have been received with critical acclaim.

He has given solo organ concerts in concert halls in Budapest, Leipzig, Osaka, Yokohama, and Geneva, and on some of the world’s most significant historic organs in Lübeck, Leipzig, Norden, Leer, Paris, Freiberg, Merseburg, and Naumburg, among others. He has given masterclasses in improvisation at Eastman School of Music, Yale, Oberlin, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Seoul, South Korea, and the Cuneo Conservatory in Italy. 

Dr. Karosi is the recipient numerous first prizes in organ competitions; the J. S. Bach competition in Leipzig, the International Organ Competition in Miami, and the Dublin International Organ competition that he won at age 22. He was appointed as Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia in May 2024. Previously he served as Cantor at Saint Peter’s Church in New York City, where he was artistic director of the Saint Peter’s Bach Collegium, which he founded in 2015 for annual performances of J. S. Bach’s Passions, cantatas, and to commission and premier new sacred repertoire. 

For information: https://karosi.org/

Bálint Karosi is represented in North America exclusively by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC. 
www.concertartists.com